Should you write your own captive insurance policy?
Manuscript the policy, but do not draft it yourself
Writing your own wording is one of the real advantages of a captive, and Queen still says do not do it yourself. He is a coverage lawyer who does not enjoy drafting his own MGA's policies and hires a specialist for the work. Manuscripted wording is the norm in captive insurance; drafting it without a coverage attorney is not.
His reason is that coverage is harder than it looks and duller than anyone expects. The advantage of a manuscripted policy is precision, and precision in policy wording is a specialist discipline where the consequences of a loose phrase only appear when a claim tests it.
There is a practical reason not to improvise from what already exists. Queen notes the standard industry forms are copyrighted, so lifting one is not a shortcut. Making your own is the route, with someone qualified doing it.
Key takeaways
Manuscripted wording is normal in captive insurance and is one of the structure's genuine advantages.
Queen drafts coverage for a living and still hires a specialist, including for his own MGA's policies.
He is explicit that good tooling does not remove the need for a coverage attorney, and that standard industry forms are copyrighted.
He is equally direct about doing it with a language model. Even with good tooling, he says, the coverage attorney is still necessary. His framing is that a few hours of specialist time to get the wording right the first time is small against the cost of discovering the problem during a claim, and that a captive manager may handle it for you.
From the conversation
Matt Queen
Captive Insurance Attorney, author of Modern Captive Insurance
“I wouldn't recommend anyone here to draft an insurance policy.”
This answer begins at 50:04 of the full conversation. Watch or listen to the whole thing.
The views expressed are those of the featured guest, drawn from a recorded conversation, and reflect their own professional experience. Nothing on this page is insurance, tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult your own advisors about your specific situation.
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